American rock band The Strokes wrapped up their performance at Coachella Saturday night with a pointed political message.
As the band finished its last song of the night, a video begins playing on the large screen behind the artists.
The footage depicts a school being blown up, captioned “last university standing in Gaza.” Then the members got up and left the stage while the clip continued playing.
The video montage accused the CIA of enacting regime change in foreign countries and implicitly criticized Israel’s bombing of Gaza and the United States’ bombing of Iran.
The song the band was playing alongside the footage, “Oblivius,” features the lyrics: “What side you standing on?”
In terms of the CIA, the band also gave credence to the conspiracy theory the US government was involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The most controversial inclusion was that of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, an issue still raging in politics that has divided the country.
It seems the set was controversial enough that the screen behind The Strokes abruptly cut off and went to black, after the images of air missile strikes on Gaza, according to reports.
In the prior weekend of Coachella, the band was already signaling they would get political. Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas on the band’s April 11 show addressed the upcoming automatic registration for the military draft.
“You guys excited about the draft? Oh wait — not the NFL draft,” he told the audience. “In six months, I think everyone who’s eligible is gonna have to register for the military. I hope to lead one of the Coachella units. The sexiest unit in our proud military, I’m sure.”
Reaction to The Strokes’ political statement have been divided. Many in the public praised their defiance, but some criticized the decision.
“Strokes politics suck! Keep playing music only,” one social media user commented. Even supporters of the band feared the incident may hurt the band in the long run.
“For those who missed it, this was the moment The Strokes basically burned their Coachella bridge,” another user said.
Casablancas has had a history of political activism. He signed a 2021 “Musicians for Palestine” letter, and the band endorsed left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his 2020 presidential run.
The five-member band, founded in 1998, recently announced a world tour that will begin in June and run through the fall.
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